It’s Time To Get Creepy With The Stanley Film Festival

This weekend, May 2-5, the Stanley Hotel is hosting the first ever Stanley Film Festival (SFF).

Celebrating the best in independent horror cinema, SFF will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels, student competitions and special events – with Festival headquarters set at The Stanley Hotel. The haunted landmark opened in 1909 and was the inspiration for Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining.

Horror movie buffs have a lot to look forward to this weekend. To kick things off, the SFF is set to present actor, writer, director and producer Eli Roth with its first Visionary Award for his contributions to independent film. Roth (who wrote, directed and produced Cabin Fever and Hostel and acted in Inglourious Basterds) will accept in person, screening his new movie Aftershock and then fielding a Q&A sessions with attendees.

The SFF program includes films from more than a dozen countries, including two U.S. premieres and 13 Colorado premieres.

The Stanley Film Festival presented by NBC Universal’s Chiller, recently announced additional screenings, industry panels and special events for this inaugural event.

SFF is honored to welcome Larry Fessenden in person for the world premiere of Beneath this Friday, May 3 at 2:30 p.m. it airs on Chiller in October 2013. Beneath is written by Tony Daniel and Brian D. Smith and directed by horror icon Larry Fessenden.

Added Screening:

Beneath-Director: Larry Fessenden. When a group of young friends commemorating their high school graduation take a trip to the remote Black Lake, their celebration turns into a nightmare with the sudden appearance of a bloodthirsty, underwater predator. Stuck in a leaking boat with no oars, the teens face the ultimate tests of friendship and sacrifice during a terror-stricken fight for survival. (Narrative) World Premiere

Following showings of Room 237 and our free outdoor screening of Kubrick’s classic with a spirited debate deep inside the Overlook Hotel about the many theories this film has spawned, the ownership of art, and the legacy of this great work, our panelists will unveil the mysteries behind this enigmatic piece of fiction on the very spot where The Shining was conceived.

• Horror Scores: Composing for Genre Cinema Sunday, May 5, 1 p.m., Stanley Hotel Music Room. Discerning viewers will notice that a memorable score goes a long way to cementing, enhancing and often creating the mood, atmosphere, thrills and pure terror necessary for a horror film to succeed. Peer into the artistic process for a lively discussion with the composers of films playing at this year’s Stanley Film Festival about how and why they do what they do.

Added Events:

• The Shining: Free Outdoor Screening. Stanley Kubrick’s modern masterpiece of horror was adapted from the book inspired by the one and only Stanley Hotel. Come pay tribute to our Festival’s spiritual fathers for this free outdoor screening on the spot that started this great legacy. Friday, May 3, 9:30 p.m., The Stanley Hotel front lawn.

• Zombie Crawl hosted by Eye Heart Brains When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth. And now you can too. Say farewell to the Stanley Film Festival by way of a good ol’ fashioned Zombie Crawl hosted by Eye Heart Brains, purveyors of the world’s largest zombie gatherings. The death march will move along The Stanley Hotel grounds and through the neighboring streets of Estes Park in search of brains. It’s the only way to say goodbye to an unforgettable weekend! Sunday, May 5, 3:00 p.m., The Stanley Hotel front lawn.

Tickets:

Individual tickets are now on sale for all regular Festival screenings, industry panels and select special events:

• Regular screenings/special presentations: $10

• Opening Night film (The Purge) + party (A Shining Gala): $35

• Opening Night party (A Shining Gala): $25

• Closing Night film (Aftershock) + party (A Masquerade Ball): $35

• Closing Night party (A Masquerade Ball): $25

• Horror Brunch and Bloody (Mary) Awards Ceremony: $30/$20

All tickets, passes and packages can be purchased online or at the Festival Box Office, located in the Stanley Tours Office, which is on the garden level of the Stanley Hotel’s Main Building, just across from Steamer’s Café. The official Stanley Film Festival app is available for download on iOS via the App Store.

To keep up to date with the Stanley Film Festival, visit stanleyfilmfest.com, “Like” SFF on Facebook (Facebook.com/StanleyFilmFest), “Follow” SFF on Twitter and Instagram (@StanleyFilmFest) and join the conversation using the hashtag #YeahItsCreepy.